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2000 April Report of the Auditor General of Canada
Appendix B—Federal Government and Other Studies Related to Public Service Human Resource Management, 1967-2000
1967 Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which led to the adoption of the Official Languages Act and related public service policies.
1968 Advisory Group on Executive Compensation, created in 1968 to advise the Prime Minister on compensation and related matters. This committee was the forerunner of the current Strong Committee on executive compensation and retention.
1970 The Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada, which made recommendations on equality of opportunity for women in the public service.
1974 "Employer-Employee Relations in the Public Service of Canada". The Finkelman Report proposed legislative change to the Public Service Staff Relations Act and the Public Service Employment Act. A Special Joint House Committee on Employer-Employee Relations in the Public Service that studied the report in detail endorsed many of its findings.
1974 "Problems for Personnel Management in the Public Service". A report on managers' concerns about public service personnel management.
1975 "A Study of Compensation in the Public Service of Canada". A report by a departmental task force of Treasury Board on classification and compensation issues.
1976 "Native People and Employment in the Public Service". A study by the Public Service Commission on employment of native people in the public service.
1979 "Classification in the Canadian Public Service". A Treasury Board Secretariat study of problems related to high levels of misclassification and inadequate accountability for classification decisions.
1979 "Special Committee on the Review of Personnel Management and the Merit Principle". The D'Avignon Committee outlined significant issues related to the human resource management framework in the public service and called for a clarification of roles and responsibilities, including changes to the central government machinery.
1979 "Royal Commission on Financial Management and Accountability". Although the Lambert Commission focussed mainly on financial management, it raised many issues related to the personnel function in government departments.
1981 "Report of Study Group on Improved Personnel Administration in the Public Service" by Treasury Board Secretariat, assessed the "health" of the personnel community in the public service.
1981 "Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign Service" highlighted problems with the management of Foreign Service personnel.
1982 "Classification Reforms for the 1980s: A Policy Review of the Classification System" by the Treasury Board. Study of the classification system, its ability to serve line managers and the impact of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
1984 "Ethical Conduct in the Public Sector", a report by the Task Force on Conflict of Interest. The report led to the adoption of conflict-of-interest and post-employment guidelines for public servants.
1984 Commission of Inquiry on Equality in Employment, an examination of affirmative action programs in the public service and the need to eliminate workplace barriers.
1984 Privy Council Office Task Force on the Public Service Employment Act, which was mandated to recommend changes to staffing and employment policy.
1984 "Efficiency and Effectiveness of Staffing Study", by the Public Service Commission, a study initiated as part of the Commission's efforts to improve staffing delivery.
1984 "Report of the Special Committee on Participation of Visible Minorities in Canadian Society" led to the adoption of employment equity programs in the public service.
1986 "Cost/Benefit Analysis of Centralizing the Classification System". A study of alternatives undertaken by the Treasury Board Secretariat, in response to issues raised by the Public Accounts Committee about the high levels of misclassification and managers' lack of accountability for classification decisions.
1987 Committee on Governing Values, a committee of deputy ministers that led to the development of a "service philosophy" and was a precursor of PS 2000.
1990 "Beneath the Veneer", a report by the Task Force on Barriers to Women in the Public Service, recommended solutions to barriers encountered by women. This report was followed up in 1995 by another study, "Looking to the Future: Challenging the Cultural and Attitudinal Barriers to Women in the Public Service", which indicated that some progress had been made but much remained to be done.
1990 Reports by the deputy minister task forces on Public Service 2000, seven of which examined aspects of human resource management. These led to the White Paper on Public Service 2000: The Renewal of the Public Service of Canada.
1995 "The Way Ahead for Human Resources Management in the Public Service", a paper prepared by the Personnel Renewal Council on setting new directions for the management of people in the public service.
1996 "A Strong Foundation - The Report of the Task Force on Public Service Values and Ethics", one of several reports on contemporary public service management issues by task forces led by or comprising deputy ministers. Other reports examined topics such as "Strengthening Our Policy Capacity."
1996 "Report of the Consultative Review on Staffing", a report for the Public Service Commission that examined changes needed in the staffing process to meet current and emerging needs.
1997 The La Relève Task Force, created by the Clerk of the Privy Council in 1997 to advance recommendations on renewing and rejuvenating the public service; reported later that year. This led to the Privy Council document "La Relève: A Commitment to Action." The Task Force was subsequently integrated into the operations of The Leadership Network, which produced a La Relève Progress Report in 1998.
1997 "Work Habits, Working Conditions and the Health Status of the Executive Cadre in the Public Service of Canada", a study by the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEX) on the impact of working conditions and the working environment on the health of public service executives.
1997 "Workforce of the Future: Valuing Our People" an examination of the evolving federal public service workplace based on consultations with about 500 employees, primarily administrative support staff. The majority of its recommendations could be implemented by individual managers working with their employees.
1998 Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation, or the Strong Committee. Its mandate is to provide independent advice to the President of the Treasury Board concerning executives, deputy ministers and other Governor-in-Council appointees. The Committee has dealt with developing long-term strategies for human resource management, including compensation strategies.
1998 "Partnering for People", report of the COSO subcommittee on the human resource community. It outlined deficiencies in the management and capacity of the human resource management specialist community, and in human resource management more broadly.
1998 "Facing the Challenge - Recruiting the Next Generation of University Graduates to the Public Service", a Public Service Commission survey of university students about their career choices. The survey indicated a low level of interest in working in the public service.
1999 "Building a World Class Workforce - Career Development in the Federal Public Service" (The Duxbury Report). The report presented the results of a study of career development as perceived by knowledge workers in the federal public service.
1999 "Turning Results Into Action - Public Service Employee Survey 1999", a survey of federal public servants on a variety of issues, from compensation to career development.
2000 "The Comparative Analysis of Modern Human Resources Management Regimes in Canada", a study prepared for the Treasury Board Secretariat to benchmark human resource management practices in the federal public service with best practices. To be published later in 2000.